The Two Roads

[英]約翰·羅斯金/John Ruskin

新年之夜，一位上了年紀(jì)的人佇立在窗前。他抬起充滿哀傷的眼睛，仰望著深藍(lán)色的天空，星星在那里游移著，如同朵朵百合散落在清澈而平靜的湖面上。接著，他把目光投向地面，看到幾個比他更加絕望的人正走向他們的終點(diǎn)——墳?zāi)埂Ｔ谕ㄍ松K點(diǎn)的道路上，他已經(jīng)走過了六十個驛站，除了過失和悔恨之外，他一無所獲。現(xiàn)在，他健康欠佳，精神空虛，心情憂郁，缺少晚年應(yīng)有的舒適和安逸。

年輕的時光如夢幻般浮現(xiàn)在他眼前，他回想起父親將他放在人生道路的入口處時那個關(guān)鍵的時刻。當(dāng)時，擺在他面前的有兩條道路：一條通向和平寧靜、陽光燦爛的地方，那里充滿花果，回蕩著柔和甜美的歌聲；另一條則通向黑暗無底的深淵，那里流淌著毒汁而非清水，惡魔肆虐，毒蛇橫行。

他仰望著天空，痛苦地叫喊：“啊，青春，請回來吧！啊，父親，請把我重新放到人生道路的起點(diǎn)上吧，我將會做出更好的選擇。”然而，父親和他的青春都已離他遠(yuǎn)去。

他看著燈光被黑暗吞沒，那就是他虛度的時光；他看見一顆星星從空中隕落、消逝，那正是他自身的寫照，悔恨如同利箭深深刺進(jìn)他的心臟。然后，他回想起兒時的朋友，他們曾與他一同踏上人生的旅程，現(xiàn)在已走在成功的道路上，受到人們的尊敬，此時正沉浸在歡度新年的幸福中。

教堂高塔上的鐘聲敲響了，這讓他回憶起父母早年對他的愛，他們曾給予他諄諄教誨，曾為他的幸福向上帝祈禱。但他偏偏選擇了人生的歧途。羞愧和憂傷使他再也不敢正視他父親所在的天堂。他雙眼無神，飽含著淚水，在絕望中，他奮力高喊：“回來吧，我那逝去的歲月！回來吧！”

他的青春真的回來了，因為上面所發(fā)生的一切只不過是他在新年所做的一場夢。他依然年輕，當(dāng)然他也曾真的犯過錯誤，但還不至于墮入黑暗深淵，他仍然可以自由地走在通向?qū)庫o和光明的道路上。

正在人生路口徘徊，正在猶豫是否要選擇光明大道的年輕人啊，你們一定要記住：當(dāng)你青春已逝，在黑暗的群山中舉步維艱、跌跌撞撞的時候，你才會痛心疾首、徒勞無功地呼喊：“啊，回來吧，青春！啊，把我美好的年華還給我吧！”

It was New Year's Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky， where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth， where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal—the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it， and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor， his mind vacant， his heart sorrowful， and his old age short of comforts.

The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him， and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads—one leading to a peaceful， sunny place， covered with flowers， fruits and resounding with soft， sweet songs； the other leading to a deep， dark cave， which was endless， wherepoison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.

He looked towards the sky and cried painfully， "O， youth， return！ O， my father， place me once more at the entrance to life， and I'll choose the better way！" But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.

He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life； he saw a star fall from the sky and disappeared， and this was the symbol of himself. His remorse， which was like a sharp arrow， struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood， who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honoured and happy on this New Year's Night.

The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents'early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears， and with a despairing effort， he burst out a cry， "Come back， my early days！ Come back！"

And his youth did return， for all this was only a dream， which he had on New Year's Night. He was still young though his faults were real； he had not yet entered the deep， dark cave， and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunnyland.

Those who still linger on the entrance of life， hesitating to choose the bright road， remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains， you will cry bitterly， but in vain： "O， youth， return！ O， give me back my early days！"